Headache

Chapter 1

Nighttime had rolled in in New York and the skies darkened around Manhattan. The 54 precinct was busy as always as officers and detectives worked around the clock to produce results. For two detectives it had been a long day and a long case that had finally reached its end. But for one it felt like the day would never end. Detective First Grade Daniel Reagan sat at his desk filling out paper work for his last case but he could barely get anything done. It hurt simply just to sit in his chair and he spent the past five minutes trying to rub the painful stiffness out of his neck. It wasn't due to any physical altercation he had that day; it was something he had been dealing with throughout the course of the case. And it was something Detective Maria Baez had noticed. Danny had seemed off to her for a while. He had mentioned having back pain early on and now it seemed like it was getting worse. He never seemed like this before – it was something that wasn't too hard to miss. Baez watched as Danny rubbed his aching mussels with the amount of pain he was in visible on his face.

"Are you sure you're okay Reagan?" she asked, having asked him the same question for the past week.

"Yeah I'm fine," he said, brushing it off, "it's probably nothing."

"You've been saying that for the past three days," she stated.

"I'm fine," Danny said again trying to really convince her, "let's just wrap this up okay?" And he meant it. Not only was Danny not a fan of the endless stacks of paper work, but his back was screaming for him to get up and move. He hurt everywhere and now his head was starting to ache just from looking at the files in front of his face.

"Want something to drink?" he asked conjuring up an excuse, and gingerly getting out of his chair.

"No I'm good," she said as she watched him walk out. She looked over at his desk and eyed his work. She was three quarters done while he was nowhere close to even finishing half. She sat back as if she had never moved as he walked back over with a bottle of water in hand.

"No coffee?" she questioned.

"Nah, not this time," he sat easing himself back into his chair.

"Reagan why don't you just go home," she offered, "I'll finish up the fives." She knew Danny always avoided paper work like the plague, but this time she didn't mind taking up the full load. He needed some time away to relax and recoup; she really wasn't used to seeing him like this. He was really off his game.

"You sure?" Danny asked trying to seem sad, when on the inside he was rejoicing.

"Yeah," she insisted, "get outta here I got this." He offered a thank you as he grabbed his stuff and left. Baez reached over her desk and grabbed a couple files off of Danny's desk before waving goodbye to her partner hopefully things would be different tomorrow. Hopefully he would be better tomorrow.

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Meanwhile in a cop bar in town, officer Jaime Reagan stood with a beer in hand throwing darts at a board. He had been playing a series of games with his partner and he was losing badly. He couldn't seem to win a single game against her.

"Just face it Reagan," Officer Eddie Janko, "I'm kicking your ass and you're picking up the tab." She took the dart out of his hand and threw it at the board, striking it dead center. She rejoiced at another win while Jaime just shook his head. But he couldn't help the smile that came across his face and the laugh that left his mouth. He enjoyed spending time off work with his partner. Not many other cops could say the same, which is what made the relationship so special. He led her over to the bar and ordered her another beer.

"Next time I wanna rematch," Jaime challenged.

"Oh you're on Reagan," Eddie laughed, "but don't cry when I beat you again." He let out of another laugh but suddenly their good time was brought to a halt by the sound of yelling and breaking glass. They turned to see two guys yelling and throwing punches, and within minutes it turned into a grudge match. Others stood watching and for cops, not many stepped into to stop it. A couple men stepped in but it didn't seem to make much difference. Eddie and Jaime jumped in to stop it and after a while the two officers were separated.